Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Kentucky State
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Lady Racers Gallop Past Thorobrettes 80-46
11/10/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers had a sharp first half to push past visiting Kentucky State 80-46 in MSU's season-opener.
Murray State held Kentucky State to two points for the first 10:23 of the game and held the Thorobrettes to 18.2-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Racers made 50 percent (18 of 36) of their first-half shots, while KSU made six of its 33 first-half shots. MSU vaulted out to a 25-2 lead before settling in to a 40-14 halftime score.
In the second half, Murray State made 17 turnovers to Kentucky State's 13, but the Thorobrettes were unable to get closer than 21 points, when Cortney Matthewis hit a jumper with 2:55 remaining to pull KSU to within 65-44. Murray State scored the next 13 points, as sophomore Ashley Nichole Hayes hit a basket and two free throws, senior Joi Scott hit a layup, junior Alaina Lee made two free throws, freshman Jenny Petrie made one of two free-throw attempts, freshman Shanice McElrath made two free throws and sophomore Amber Guffey hit a jumper.
"I was pleased with how we came out to start the game," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We were very aggressive and did good things on defense. I'm proud of our effort coming out of the gate. We played very good defense in the first half.
"We did not come out with a lot of energy in the second half, and we need to work on that. We did a good job on the offensive boards, but we need to do a better job on the defensive end. We came out in the second half with no energy, no intensity, and that concerns me as a coach. We will need to play a full 40 minutes to win a game."
Murray State was led by Scott, who notched her eighth career double-double with a game-high 23 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Scott went 11-for-18 from the field and took down five offensive boards.
Hayes also had a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Hayes was 7-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line, and eight of her rebounds came off the defensive glass.
Petrie added 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds (five offensive), while Guffey had 11 points and a game-high six assists. Junior Shaleea Petty added five assists and had two steals, while Petrie swiped a co-game-high four steals.
For Kentucky State, Matthewis had 18 points and 13 rebounds. She also swiped four steals and had three blocked shots, and shot 8-for-20 from the field. Seven of her rebounds were on the offensive end. Shelly Dukes added 10 points and nine boards for the Thorobrettes and took three steals.
Latrice Watkins had a team-high four assists to go with three steals, while Jessica Vaughn had three assists. Helena Times had nine rebounds, two assists and two steals for KSU.
Although this was Murray State's season-opener, it was an exhibition game for Kentucky State, which opens its season on Nov. 18.
Murray State closes this season-opening homestand on Sunday at 2 p.m., when the Lady Racers host Brescia at the Regional Special Events Center.
